Forty Under 40: Adam Arroyos

A native of treeless north Texas, Adam Arroyos had always liked trees, and when he came to Fayetteville for a Walmart shareholders meeting in 1994, he fell in love with it.

He enrolled at the University of Arkansas, receiving a degree in foreign languages in 1998. He earned a master’s in education in 2002, and completed a doctorate in public policy in 2010.

Arroyos was corporate affairs director at Walmart when he founded the local chapter of ALPFA, an association for Hispanic business professionals and students, in 2008. It went from a starting chapter to a leading chapter in 18 months — an unprecedented feat, he said.

That caught the attention of the Los Angeles-based nonprofit, which hired him in May 2011 to design and launch the ALPFA Institute, located in the UA’s Walton College.

The institute offers programs, advising and consulting to help companies worldwide attract and retain Hispanic leaders.

“What we do is build leaders, whether it’s individuals or companies,” he said.

 Arroyos wants to bring the institute into more emerging markets in Central and South America, as well as Mexico.

He tells young professionals: “Don’t wait to lead. Start to lead now. A lot of folks think they need a particular title to lead, but what we need are people who start leading today.”

He says his biggest achievement is his family.